IntroductionA business trip
to Bergen gave me this chance for a short taster to the
magic of birding in the extreme north of Europe -
something I had always hoped for, having a well read copy
of the inspirational "Wild Wings to the Northlands"
by Stan Bayliss Smith. High on my list of target species
was Bluethroat, having failed on various other occasions
to see this bird.

With only a
few days available, I decided the best course of action
was to fly from Bergen to Trondheim airport (about 1 hr),
hire a car, and then drive the relatively short distance
(c. 1.5 hrs) over into Sweden to do some birding in the
Lake Annsjon area - which sounded really good from
descriptions on the Internet and also the short piece in
John Gooder's old "Where to Watch Birds in Europe".

Before
travelling, I had made contact with the Lake Annsjon Bird
Observatory (contact details below), which is situated in
Handol, and is manned during the summer by a team of
birders doing bird census work and ringing. Also, they
provided a good source of local advice about locations
etc, and even led me to the Great Snipe lek at Storlien (more of that
later!).

Accommodation
in this remote area is not plentiful, especially out of
high season, and many places were closed. There was no
sign of any hotels in Enafors, despite what the dated
Gooders book says. However, the Pensionat Handol (contact
details below) provides modestly priced cabin-style
accommodation, in close proximity to the bird observatory,
and opened during my stay. The cabins have their own
cooking facilities, but when I was there good cooked
meals were also available. If arranging to stay, it is
advisable to check thoroughly with them beforehand (preferably
by phone) that they have your booking recorded. When I
arrived late in the evening, there was no sign of anyone
and nothing about my reservation (there were notes for
others about which cabin to stay in, but not me!). So I
had to search around for an unlocked cabin to sleep in.
The proprietors appeared at lunch time the next day, to
open the place properly for the summer, but had no record
of my reservation, and were somewhat surprised to find an
extra cabin occupied! Only then did I get sheets and a
key!

This short
trip certainly gave me a taste for northern birding, but
I didn't really get to grips with the forest species
which clearly require plenty of walking through the
sparsely populated (by birds) northern forests to stand
any chance of finding them. Maybe I will find an
opportunity to return for a longer visit sometime in the
future.

Important
note: For a more recent (2008) update on the
sites described below, see my later trip report. Also a report on my 2009 visit.

Sites

Lake
AnnsjonThis is a very large lake, with reserve areas on
the north and west shores, as shown by the map below
which I have lifted from another website (hope they don't
mind!):

On the
above map, the Pensionat Handol, and the bird observatory
are shown by the purple spot, marked "2".

The red
spot, marked by "1" shows the position of a
good viewpoint over the lake, reached along a track which
goes off the main road, just past the village of Ann (had
a shop - it had turned into a cafe in 2008!). In calm
conditions, this produced a good collection of water
birds, including Velvet and Common
Scoters, Scaup, Black-throated
and Red-throated Divers, some of these
close by, other distant ('scope needed). But on another
visit in windier conditions, there was nothing at all!
According to one report, the track leading to this spot,
and the surrounding region, is reputed to be good for all
sort of northern specialities, but I didnt see any sign
of them.

The reserve
itself is best accessed from the main road in Ann - look
for the bird signs. A brief excursion into the reserve (first
hide only) was disappointing - only Brambling. Longer
visits, further into the reserve would no doubt produce
more.

Behind the
bird observatory ("2" on the map), there is a
tower which looks over wet areas, with sections of the
lake behind. This was good for Black-throated
Divers, Whimbrel and nesting Arctic
Terns. The grounds of the Pensionat had Pied
Flycatcher and Siskin.

Over the
road from Pensionat there was a bushy area around the
river which had an elusive but voluble Icterine
Warbler.

StorlienThis is small village is on the Norway/Sweden
border, and is higher up than Lake Annsjon. There was an
excellent area around a caravan park, as indicated on the
map (note - in 2008 the bird info board had vanished. Also
there is a new large supermarket on the corner by the
main road):

On arrival,
I heard and then soon saw my first Bluethroat - singing just beside the
railway track - excellent views until a train went by!
Further down the track were some excellent pools which
had at least 5 very tame Red-necked Phalarope,
3+ Wood Sandpipers, 3 more Bluethroat
and a Whimbrel over.

Storlien is
also notable for its Great Snipe lek - way up on the mountain
side above the village, reached along a track as
indicated (about a 3/4 hr walk, steepish at times). To
see them, a very late evening visit is needed (around 11pm
or later), and the exact location of the lek would be
difficult to find. I went with some birders from the
Observatory, and would recommend anyone else does the
same. This was a truly memorable occasion - excellent
views of several displaying birds in the gloom, with
superb mountain views all around. Shame about the rain
and mosquitoes - a good repellent was essential! We got
back to the cars around 12pm, but it was still light
enough to see where you were going OK.

KlockaThis tiny hamlet is on the north shore of Lake
Annsjon, and is reached by a small road, which ends in a
fieldy area just east of the buildings. Here there was a Redstart
and also Whinchat. Proceeding by foot
further to the east, there is a track which goes through
some promising wooded areas. Others have had northern
specialities such as Siberian Jay around
here, and it also looks good for Capercaillie,
but I was out of luck during my visit.

Further on,
this path emerges into open boggy areas, and connects
with the back of the reserve reached from Ann. I went
along a track to the right which went close to the lake,
but the only notable sighting was a Redpoll
- the northern form (flammea) which had a lot of red on
it.

Road
from Storlien to AnnsjonArriving quite late, I had Woodcock
over some trees, and I also surprised an Elk (Moose) by
the road!

Road
from Handol to StorulvanThis road goes up hill from Handol, and gives
good scenic views over the area. The dwarf birch by the
road had lots of Redwing etc. At Storulvan there is a
track which goes further up a valley with access to wild
fell areas. Could well be worth exploring for things like
Bluethroat and even Long-tailed
Skua, Rough-legged Buzzard etc,
but I didnt have the time or energy to do this.